TEL AVIV — Next month, the world marks a somber two-year anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel.
As of Monday, of the nearly 250 people who were taken hostage, 48 of them are still being held in Gaza, and 20 of them are believed to be alive.
Irit Lahav escaped after being held that fateful day. She didn’t think she and her daughter would survive the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
“We thought these were our last minutes. So we just said to each other how much we love each other,” Lahav said.
Nearly two years have passed and she explained how they both took refuge in their home’s safe room.
“Some people didn’t close their little locks and they were kidnapped from their windows,” Lahav said.
A jerry-rigged contraption made of a cable, a vacuum cleaner, and an oar prevented Hamas militants from opening the door.
“They were kicking and beating the door and shouting in Arabic,” Lahav said. “I made a wall of books here, because I was sure they would be able to open the door and since they have automatic weapons, they would open the door, and since they would shoot at us. I thought the books would slow down the bullets.”
The nearby Nova music festival saw the highest death toll after the terrorists stormed the Israeli border.
But per capita, the small community of Nir Oz was the hardest hit. Hamas fighters only had to sprint through a field of a few hundred yards to reach the village.
It’s believed that around one in four of the several hundred people who lived there were either murdered or kidnapped.
For many, life or death was determined by whether they could find a way to lock their safe room, most of which didn’t have built-in locks.
“Whoever was able to hold onto their door survived,” Lahav said. “All the other ones were either murdered or kidnapped.”
She is one of the few who have now fixed her damaged home and stays some nights.
“When I go to sleep, I’m really scared,” she said.
Many other homes remain in ruins. Some of their former residents are still alive but were being held in Gaza. Many others died in the attack.
The second anniversary of the Hamas attack also comes as the Israeli military begins a campaign to take over Gaza City, the most populous city in the Gaza Strip.
Explosions could be heard Monday in southern Israel as the campaign got underway.
Israeli officials have faced criticism for the potential humanitarian consequences, but they insist the offensive is necessary to root out Hamas militants.
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